Big opportunities for support industries

(VEN) - With a focus on mold making and plastic injection technologies, three exhibitions in on support industries with this year’s largest scale attracted the participation of hundreds of famous brands. This was also an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to expand trade and garner experience from developed countries.

Learning new technologies

Reed Tradex Co., Ltd. in Vietnam Deputy Managing Director and General Manager Duangdej Yuaikwarmdee said that three exhibitions were seen as attractive destinations for domestic and foreign manufacturers to learn new technologies in order to create a breakthrough in production, expand business network and comprehend new knowledge and ideas.

Vietnam Manufacturing Expo 2015 saw the participation of more than 200 brands coming from 20 nations and four booths from India, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Thailand, while the Japan-Vietnam Support Industries Exhibition 2015 brought together 57 Japanese manufacturers and 44 Vietnamese businesses.

A wide range of items were displayed at three exhibitions such as metal products, auto and motorbike parts and accessories, electronics, communications, plastics, rubber, machinery and equipment serving industrial production and support industries.

Practical activities were also held in the framework of the three exhibitions such as connectivity service between businesses in order to help component providers meet and sign contracts with international companies, the engineer master class to introduce about quality assurance in welded fabrication and support industry forums with the presentation of experts from the Alliance for Support Industry Association and the Thai-German Institute for Machinery and Automation System Center. These activities offered opportunities for businesses to learn about product information, exchange technology and promote bilateral cooperation in support industries.

Strengthening trade

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said, “The three exhibitions on support industries are an effective channel for Vietnamese and foreign businesses to enhance long-term trade and investment cooperation. This is also an opportunity to promote the development of Vietnam’s support industries in order to create more competitive products with higher added value.”

Vietnam’s support industries have made high efforts to overcome weaknesses and promote cooperation with partners in recent years, especially Japan in order to meet development demand at the home market.

Economic Envoy at the Japanese Embassy to Vietnam Katsuro Nagai said that promoting the development of support industries is a top priority of the Vietnamese government. Around 1,500 Japanese companies are operating in Vietnam. Although more than half of their companies are in the manufacturing sector, the local content of made-in-Vietnam products has only reached 33 percent. In addition, almost all local products are provided by Japanese companies in Vietnam, showing that links between the two business communities remain limited.

Vietnam will remove 97 percent of the tariff lines following its commitments in the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement by 2018. The removal of tariff lines is expected to benefit Vietnam in developing the consumer market and stabilizing the social and political situation. However, businesses will face fiercer competition from neighboring manufacturers due to lower prices. Therefore, enhancing the development of support industries and encouraging component providers to supply high-quality parts at lower prices are seen as core factors.

The three exhibitions on support industries, including the Industrial Component and Subcontracting Vietnam organized by the Hanoi Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center, the sixth Japan-Vietnam Support Industries Exhibition 2015 organized by the Japan External Trade Organization, and the Vietnam Manufacturing Expo 2015 organized by Thailand’s Reed Tradex took place from September 10-12 attracting many visitors.